I don't normally pay too much attention to the vice presidential debate during a presidential election campaign because they tend not to matter all that much. Certainly, everyone was excited to see Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin debate Delaware Sen. Joe Biden in 2008 because she was such a wild card. Many people tuned in to see if she would fall on her face. (She actually held up pretty well.) There have been famous vice presidential debates in which one of the candidates skewered the other, as when Democratic Sen. Lloyd Benson of Texas deftly took down the callow senator from Indiana Dan Quayle with his withering, "I knew John Kennedy, John Kennedy was a friend of mine. And you, sir, are no John Kennedy." But mostly the vice presidential debates are forgettable. Overall, vice presidential candidates, even the ones who are part of the winning ticket, are often forgotten parts of the campaign.
But this year I think it might be different. Mostly it's because it really does appear there will only be one debate between Harris and Trump. He is intellectually lazy and knows that he's incapable of actually preparing for a debate against Harris again. He can't risk another catastrophic failure. So, regrettably, Tuesday's vice presidential debate may be the last big event of campaign season before the election is over.
